Time for Power tubes; EL84s

[Zilthy]

On the one hand, as far as tubes go, for myself I think they actually make a minimal difference, unless they are bad. And usually my pre-amp tubes last forever, and my power amp tubes last a long time. That being said, there is a combo I have found that I usually like, and that make up that 1 - 2 percent difference that I enjoy, at least in the amps I have. And V1 and V2 usually make the most difference. Works well in Soldano and Boogie type circuits where V1 is going to be for the clean and V1 and V2 for overdrive. It also worked out really well in H&K Grandmeister, I think fits a lot of pre-amp circuits well.

V1: Electro Harmonix. Great clean with chime without being overbearing and a nice 'almost' treble boost for going in to V2 for overdrive.
V2: Tung Sol. Warm and smooth breakup for the overdrive channel.
Phase Inverter: Sovtek long plate. To me this is where the magic happens, and it's going to get loud or be using a load box or attenuator. But Push that volume up to 6 or more, and these handle that nicely, adding some generous girth to the sound. Most people think of pre-amp and power-amp distortion, but it's really tickling that phase inverter to the point where it is ready to open up and swallow where the magic happens, and the Sovtek Long Plates seem to do that well.